Today we’d like to introduce you to Eva Vela.
Hi Eva, please kick things off for us with an introduction to yourself and your story.
Growing up was a struggle for my siblings and I. Our parents did their best with the little they had. Many nights we went to bed hungry and had to wait to go to school the next day to eat. We lived about a minute away from the elementary school and I was always the first one out of the house at 6 am to get there for breakfast. I’m not sure what I was thinking but I was there as early as the custodian was, we opened the gates together. We lived like this for many years. As a teenager, I spent a lot of time at my friend’s house so that I could eat some good food, Hamburger Helper was a luxury meal for me at that age. I’m grateful for my friends and their parents because they never denied me of anything.
I became a teen mom, worked full-time, and dropped out of school. When I decided to go back to school, I earned my High School Diploma and was motivated by my sister to go to college. She always believed in me and knew the potential I had. By the age of 21 I had 3 kids, was a single mom, working full-time, and going to school part-time. With so many issues going on in my life at that time, I knew that I couldn’t give up, I had 3 kids to keep me going, and I knew if I needed anything, my family was there.
I began saving money so that I could take my kids on a trip at least once a year. I started traveling anytime I could and was able to witness how other countries struggled with poverty. I realized that even though I struggled so much with abuse, hunger, and drugs, I was still privileged living in the U.S.
Once I earned my degree and became an educator, I knew that I wanted to do more to help people, not just in my community, but in other countries that don’t have the same opportunities that we do. I began going on mission trips, I began making care packages for the homeless and began to go under the bridges to feeding them.
During the pandemic, I decided that I still wanted to do more and started my online boutique business. This provided me the opportunity to network and meet new people, which also gave me the idea to start a nonprofit organization. Being the Founder of Twelve Basketfuls Outreach, Inc., a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization, will give me the opportunity to fundraise so that we could reach more families and hopefully end poverty for them, even if it’s just one person/family.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It’s definitely been a tough road starting a Nonprofit Organization. I had to do a lot of research, take courses, joined an academy of wonderful people nationwide doing the same thing, and many other things. It’s difficult when you’re hosting a fundraiser and not many people are attending or wanting to be a part of whatever you’re doing. It’s also difficult when you have to be the fundraising coordinator, the event planner, the social media coordinator, and so many other things at the same time. I have a lot of faith, so I’m still going to continue doing what I’m doing because there’s people out there that need our resources.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
Besides my philanthropy work, I’m also a Special Education Teacher. I started as a Teaching Assistant 10 years ago and have worked myself up to where I’m at today. I do a little bit of everything in my current position. What’s more rewarding to me is seeing the growth in my students and getting to see my seniors walk down the stage; it’s always a proud moment for me.
Any big plans?
My plans for the future are to be able to reach as many families as we could. I want our organization to be able to build homes for people living in the streets or in unsustainable homes. I want us to be able to build community centers for the youth so they’re not in the streets being influenced by gang members. I also want us to be able to missions trips in more countries so that we could help as many people as we could.
Pricing:
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Contact Info:
- Email: contact@twelvebasketfuls.org
- Website: www.twelvebasketfuls.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/twelvebasketfulsoutreach/
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